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Added‐Value Surfactants
Author(s) -
Polarz Sebastian,
Kunkel Marius,
Donner Adrian,
Schlötter Moritz
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201802279
Subject(s) - amphiphile , micelle , lyotropic , lyotropic liquid crystal , vesicle , solvent , amphiphilic molecule , chemical engineering , membrane , nanotechnology , materials science , chemistry , organic chemistry , liquid crystalline , copolymer , polymer , aqueous solution , biochemistry , engineering , phase (matter)
Surfactants are ubiquitous in cellular membranes, detergents or as emulsification agents. Due to their amphiphilic properties, they cannot only mediate between two domains of very different solvent compatibility like water and organic but also show fascinating self‐assembly features resulting in micelles, vesicles, or lyotropic liquid crystals. The current review article highlights some approaches towards the next generation surfactants, for example, those with catalytically active heads. Furthermore, it is shown that amphiphilic properties can be obtained beyond the classical hydrophobic–hydrophilic interplay, for instance with surfactants containing one molecular block with a special shape. Whereas, classical surfactants are static, researchers have become more interested in species that are able to change their properties depending on external triggers. The article discusses examples for surfactants sensitive to chemical (e.g., pH value) or physical triggers (temperature, electric and magnetic fields).